The Journey For Light
by keelykelly
Summary: The Magic Lights of Flutterfield are starting to go out again! And Queen Marabella can't figure out why. After paying a visit to Gwyllion, Mariposa, Carlos and Catania discover that it's the work of a fairy back for revenge. Thank You, Joycelyn.o.ting for the title and Princess2000 for the idea!
1. Prologue

Far beyond the borders of Flutterfield, on the very outskirts of the Bewilderness, Henna was watching a large pot that was boiling "Well, that mixture that the Gwillion created before she went all 'friends' and everything, with a little alteration of my own..." she smiled as she took a small portion of the mixture out, then turned to face a glowing, blue flower that she had taken from Flutterfield.

Due to a large creature that loved to eat butterfly fairies called Skeezites, Marabella the Queen of Flutterfield had created a magical flower that would glow as long as she lived.

Henna approached the flower and poured the substance over it.

She slowly pointed at the light then moved her hand downward. The lights became dim.

"Yes!" Henna cried triumphantly "Because the flowers are all connected I can control their light! One by one all the flowers will be drained of their power, and ultimately the source of their glow will be drained of it's power too. Queen Marabella." she watched as the flower became darker and darker "All the power will be transported into me!"

"Um..." One Skeezite said "When do we get to eat? You promised us Butterfly Fairies!"

"Yeah!" Several others echoed.

"And you make us hungry." Another one said.

"Just wait." Henna said, ushering them from her workspace "You'll get your reward." she closed the door firmly behind them and grinned "Once I have all the power, I alone will be able to activate the lights! Flutterfeild with have no choice but to make me their queen! And any who refuse will be fed to the Skeezites!" she chuckled wickedly "Starting with Mariposa."

**(I'd like to thank Jocelyn. once again for the title as well as the idea! Random subject, has anyone seen the Deleted Scenes for Barbie and the three musketeers, when the girls stop a robbery? I'm dying to see or read them! And... Barbie Ponytale was GREAT! Wish it ended differently though. LATERZ!)**


	2. The lights are fading

Prince Carlos flew from his bedroom and towards the royal library.

One thing he'd always enjoyed was the fact that the library was _in _the castle... especially now that Mariposa worked there.

It was still _really _early, but he had a feeling she was there already. Of course it was also possible that she'd never left.

She had a slight habit of spending all night in the library, lost in a book.

As he flew through the doors, he noticed that all the lights, not counting the magical flowers that were always lit, were on, which told him that his prediction was true: Mariposa was there.

"Mariposa?" He called quietly, looking around a corner. The best and worse part of the library was that it was HUGE! It was the best because there were millions of books on every topic imaginable! The worse part, it was hard to find someone.

"Hmm." he glanced around "She has to be here somewhere." he stood there thinking till the very faint sound of someone humming caught his attention. With a smile, he flew in that direction. By time he found her, she was no longer humming but singing, thinking she was alone.

"_**You will be my wings." **_She sang softly, placing some books in their designated spots

"_**You will be my only love. **_

_**You will take me far beyond the stars."**_

Carlos gently landed on the floor and watched as she continued putting the books away, obviously having no clue he was there.

"_**You will lift me high above." **_she continued

"_**Everything we're dreaming of will soon be ours.**_

_**Anything that we desire anything at all!**_

_**Every day you'll take me higher**_

_**and...**_ Oops!" a book slipped from her hand and fell towards the floor "No no no no no!" she cried as she dove for it. The she froze.

There was Carlos, smiling sheepishly at her.

"Carlos!" She said shocked, heat creeping into her cheeks "What are you... I mean, how long. Um..."

Carlos walked over to where the book had fallen and picked it up "I... uh... came for a book."

"Of course." Mariposa slowly flew down to the floor and landed. Then she took her escapee-book from him "Which one?"

Carlos reached into the pouch that was connected to a belt around his waist and pulled out a book "This one's sequel."

Mariposa smiled "Haven't you read it already? Twice."

Carlos shrugged "Three times actually. But it's so good!"

"I know!" Mariposa flew up a few feet and removed the wanted book from the shelf "Here."

"Thank you." he placed the book into his pouch "Um... Are you..."

"Mariposa!" A voice called.

Mariposa's face lit up "Catania!" then she quickly flew off.

Carlos sighed, then followed.

"It's so good to see you!" Mariposa laughed as she hugged the Crystal Princess.

"You too!" Catania said happily, the she backed up and did a sweeping wave "Hey."

Mariposa laughed and shook her head "You're never going to let me forget that, are you?"

"No." Catania answered "By the way, my Dad still thinks that it's a sign of great respect."

Mariposa pushed a strand of her honey colored hair out of her face "Thankfully, Queen Marabella hasn't asked me about that yet."

"Hey Carlos." Catania waved to the Prince.

"Princess Catania." Carlos nodded "Have a nice day." then he nodded at Mariposa.

"Bye." Mariposa sent him a small wave, then watched as he left the library.

Catania smiled to herself. Just like Willa had said, they were 'Made for each other'! But the problem was, both of them were painfully shy.

"So, what's going on in Shimmervale?" Mariposa asked, flying down to the floor.

"Not much." Catania answered as she followed her friend down "There are still some that think Butterfly fairies are evil."

"There probably always will be. So, what brings you here?"

"Just visiting." Catania picked up a book that was laying on a table near by and leafed through it "Willa's Tour-Guide training is going... well."

Mariposa chuckled "Are Willa and Talayla causing too much mischief?"

"I think I'll leave that unanswered." the two girls laughed, then they both started placing newly-arrived books on the shelves "So... Prince Carlos." she noticed the Butterfly fairy's cheeks take on a pinkish tint.  
"What about him?" Mariposa asked.

"What was he doing in here?"

"Getting a book."

"Oh."

Mariposa glanced over at the princess "Um... Did Zee and Anu come with you?"  
"Mm-hm." Catania nodded "Zee missed you too much to stay behind."

"Where is sh-"

Mariposa was suddenly cut off by a very loud "MARIPOSA!"

She spun around to see the small pink puffball flying at breakneck speed straight towards her "Oh no. Zee!"

The puffball hit her square in the stomach, sending her flying several yards back and ultimately crashing to the floor.

"Are you alright?" Catania asked, flying over to help Mariposa back to her feet.

"I should be used to it." Mariposa laughed "Hello Zee."

The little puffball starting jabbering on quickly about what she had been doing.

The two girls glanced at each other and smiled.

"Oh, did I tell you what Tayala and Willa have added to the tour?" Catania suddenly asked.

"What?" Mariposa asked cautiously.

"They take the visitors into the ballroom and make them fold down their wings and dance!"

Mariposa laughed pulled her wings down so that they made a skirt "Like this?"

Catania pulled her wings down and the two began dancing across the library laughing.

Carlos poked his head in the door and smiled "Um..."

The two girls stopped "Yes?" they said in unison.

"I thought you might like to know that it's ten minutes past opening."

"Oh." Mariposa looked up at a clock "Thanks."

"No problem." then he disappeared.

Zee flew over to Mariposa and grinned "Ooh." she said in her puffball language "You in love." then she started laughing.

Mariposa frowned then allowed her wings to pop up, knocking the puffball across the room "I'll see you later, Catania."

"Yep. We're here all week!" The princess flew over to a shelf and grabbed a book "I _might _see you later today."

"I so know that feeling!" Mariposa waved at her "See ya!"

A few hours later, Catania and Carlos came for another book, this time they stayed in the library to read.

"**It's quite amazing." **The king of Shimmervale said "Your flower lights are spectacular."

Queen Marabella laughed softly "Thank you, Regilious. I must say the same about your Crystalites."

The king smiled and nodded "I have to ask. What is between your son and Mariposa?"

Marabella blew a strand of hair from her face "I wish I knew. I honestly think they really like each other. But both are too shy to say anything." she paused outside the library door "Not to mention, they like the same things." she pointed inside "See?"

Inside the library, Carlos, Mariposa, and Catania were all reading.

Catania had her feet pulled up beneath her as she comfortably read her book.

Carlos was sitting straight in his chair, while Mariposa was lounging sideways, her legs draped over the arm of her chair.

"Um..." Regilious shook his head "What am I missing?"

"Mariposa and Carlos are reading the same book." Marabella answered,

"Ah. I see that now." Regilious nodded, then he frowned "What does that mean?"

Marabella shook her head "Never mind."

**Mariposa and Carlos **closed their books at the exact same time. They looked at each other then laughed.

"Wow. You two read at the same speed." Catania commented, flipping another page of her book "I did not know that about you."

Mariposa turned around straight in her chair then stood up. She flexed her wings a little and chuckled "They do not like that."

Carlos smiled "Still getting used to the size?"

Mariposa nodded "You'd think after two months of the first extension, and three months since the last extension, I'd be used to it."

Catania laughed "I've only been flying for three months?" she looked back at her crystal wings "They do still get a little sore." she closed her book "Do you think we'll have another adventure soon?"

"I don't know." Mariposa answered, putting her book away.

"Would you like another one?" Carlos asked.

The girl shrugged "I think it'd be fun." then she laughed "As long as my wings don't grow again."

They all laughed, right before being shushed by someone who was reading nearby.

Carlos looked up at the clock "I have to go. It's time for dinner."

"Already?" Catania leapt up from her seat "Gotta fly."

"See you tomorrow." Mariposa sent them a small wave before she picked up a book.

Catania and Carlos glanced at each other.

"I hope you get a good night's sleep." Catania said.

Mariposa nodded as she flipped through the pages "Okay. Thanks."

Carlos chuckled "She means literally."

"Okay. Thanks."

Catania looked over at the Prince "She's not going to leave tonight."

"Nope."

It wasn't long till everyone left the library and the lights were turned out.

Mariposa was left alone, lounging in a chair under one of Flutterfield lights.

Zee came flying into the room "Ello-o?" she glanced around and sighed when she spotted Mariposa deep in a book "Mariposa? Mariposa!"

"Hm?"

"Come."

"In a moment."

Zee flew between Mariposa and the book, trying to see what was so interesting about a book with no pictures!

Mariposa pushed the puffball out of the way and continued reading.

"Gah!" Zee groaned, then she started muttering.

Mariposa chuckled and kept on reading.

A few moments later, a dark shadow fell over her pages "Zee. Get out of the light."

"I'm not in the light." Zee retorted, trying to cross her stubby arms "It's turned off."

"What!?" Mariposa dropped her book and looked up. Sure enough, the flower was completely out "Oh no." she watched as another one slowly diminished "Something must be wrong with Marabella! Come on, Zee!" she jumped up from her seat and grabbed the puffball "Something has to be seriously wrong!" she sped quickly through the castle halls till she found the prince "Carlos!"

His head jerked in her direction "What wrong?"

"That's what I was about to ask." Mariposa quickly brought her feet to the floor "Is the Queen alright?"

"Last time I checked." Carlos answered "Wait just a moment and I'll check." he flew away then returned a few moments later, Marabella right behind him.

"Huh?" Zee tipped over in an attempt to cock her head.

"Mariposa." Marabella said gently "What is wrong?"

"I..." Mariposa shook her head "The Flutterfield lights are going out! I thought something had happened to you again."

"What do you mean the lights are going out?"

"I was in the library and one of them went out. Then I watched another one fade." She shook her head in confusion "I don't get it."

"Show me."

The three quickly returned to the library where Mariposa's story was proven true.

"I don't understand." Marabella tried to make the flower light back up, but it wouldn't "I don't know what's wrong. I am perfectly fine."

"So, something must be draining the power." Carlos said "But what? And how?"

"I don't know." Marabella answered slowly.

Mariposa looked at the other two worried "But if all the lights go out... The skeezites will come back!"

**(Sorry for the misspelling Joycelyn. ! Thanks for the reviews everyone! Yay!)**


	3. The Journey Begins

There was dead silence in the library as no one could think of what to say.

"Boo!" Zee shouted, startling them, then she started laughing.

"Zee." Mariposa shook her head "We have to do something! Find out what's wrong."

"You are right." Marabella nodded "But... I'm afraid I don't know where to start."

"I think I do." Mariposa answered "What's happening to the lights reminds me a lot of what happened in Shimmervale. Only the flowers aren't turning to stone."

"The Gwillion?" Carlos questioned.

Mariposa nodded "She knows more about spells than any of us do. She may be able to help us find out what's happening."

"That is a good idea." Marabella let out a deep breath to calm herself "It would be good if Gwyllion could help us."

Carlos looked at his mother "Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yes. Just worried." The Queen shook her head "Can you go tomorrow, Mariposa?"

"I can." The girl answered "I'll leave first thing."

"I'll go with her." Carlos volunteered.

Mariposa started to object, but the Prince cut her off "It's just to see the Gwyllion and find out what's wrong."

"Alright." She shook her head "Meet me at the border of Flutterfield at sunrise."

"I'll be there."

"Me too." A voice said in the doorway.

Mariposa smiled slightly "Catania. What are you doing up?"

"Reading. Coming for a new book. Hear the conversation." The Princess was counting the things off on her fingers "And... Volunteering to go with you, since I know exactly where Gwyllion lives. We keep in touch."

"Okay."

**So, the next **morning, the trio headed for Shimmervale. They reached their destination the next morning, then Catania led them to where Gwyllion was now living.

"Come in!" the older fairy welcomed "Hello Mariposa."

"Hi Gwyllion."

"What's with all the visitors, eh?" Boris, Gwyllion's bat asked "It's getting crowded."

Zee blew some raspberries at the bat then laughed.

"What do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" Gwyllion asked.

"We're actually here for some help." Mariposa answered, then she told the entire story "Do you have any idea what's going on?"

"I'm afraid I do." The Gwyllion answered "Before I, selfishly, went after Shimmervale, a young Butterfly fairy came to me and asked for a potion. I was already working on mine. So after hearing her story, I gave her some. She laughed and said that with a little alteration, she'd have her revenge."

"A butterfly fairy?" Mariposa glanced over at Carlos "What did she look like?"

"Well, like I said, she was young. I believe she had purple hair and indigo eyes. Her hair was in two short ponytails and she wore a purple scarf with pink polka dots."

"Henna." Carlos and Mariposa said in unison.

"Uh-oh." Zee mumbled.

"So she didn't get eaten by the Skeezites." Carlos added.

"Apparently not." Mariposa sighed "Gwyllion. Can you find out where she is?"

"Hang on." the older fairy walked over to her caldron "Don't worry. I only use this thing for good now." after dumping a few things into the pot and stirring it, a green cloud of smoke rose, and an image appeared in the middle "She's staying at the outskirts of the Bewilderness."

"That's right in the middle of Skeezite territory!" Carlos exclaimed.

Zee screamed and quickly ducked behind Mariposa "Me no like skeezites."

"But, there's a problem." Gwyllion said quickly "According to my sources, Henna tried to alter my potion so that all the power from the lights will be transferred to her."

"So then Flutterfield would be forced to make her queen!" Mariposa added "If she's the only one who can turn on the lights, then everyone would make her queen for their own safety."

"Couldn't we use the thistle burst and Illios combination?" Carlos asked.

"It's too dangerous." Mariposa answered "If someone accidentally got poisoned..." she shook her head "There has to be a way to stop her!"

"I'm afraid there's more bad news." Gwyllion said.

The three looked at each other "What?" they all asked, a bit unsure.

"I'm afraid what Henna's expecting isn't what's going to happen."

"What's going to happen?" Catania asked.

"I didn't think to tell her, but I made my potion unable to be completely altered."

"So..." Mariposa said slowly "Where is the power to the lights... going?"

"It's simply disappearing." Gwyllion answered "And after the last light goes out, it will take the power from their main source."

"My mom." Carlos finished "What are we going to do? Without the lights... Flutterfield is doomed."

"The only way to stop it is if you convince Henna of this." Gwyllion said "You can stop it by taking the first flower that she put the potion on and placing it beside a glowing flower. If all the flowers go out... I'm afraid it's going to be too late."

"Then I've got to get to Henna before she gets to Flutterfield." Mariposa said "How do we get there? Isn't the outskirts of the Bewilderness hard to get to?"

"It is." Gwillion nodded "To get there, you'll have to get past the trolls, which you have to find a way into their layer first. It's located somewhere in the center of the Bewilderness. But not in the very center. They will point you to a tunnel that will lead you to a whirlpool. Then you have to find the mermaids that will take you to Mermaidia and the Crystal Cove. There speak to Prince Nalu about the Mirror of Uncertainty. Then you must go to see the Enchantress of Fairytopia. She has something that will allow you to pass to the outskirts."

"Fairytopia!?" Catania said shocked "That's miles away! Why can't we just go through the Bewilderness?"

"There's a magical wall there, put up by the Enchatress before Flutterfield was cut off to keep the skeezites out." Gwillion shrugged "But they always found away into Flutterfield. Only the Enchantress has the key to get through the wall."

Mariposa nodded "Thank you, Gwyllion."

"I wish you luck."

The trio left the house "I've got to go to the outskirts of the Bewilderness." Mariposa said after a few moments.

"Then I'm going with you." Carlos said immediately.

"Carlos, you can't."

"You can't go alone!"

"I won't. I'll take Zee with me."

"What!?" Zee exclaimed "Me?"

"But..."

Mariposa shook her head as she landed on the ground "Carlos, it's too dangerous. If anything happened to you..." she took a deep breath then sighed "The kingdom wouldn't have an heir."

"What about you?" Carlos asked softly.

"I'm just another butterfly fairy." She answered "If something happens to me it won't matter that much. But the kingdom needs you."

"But..."

"And if something _does _happen to me, someone is going to have to find a way to stop Henna."

Carlos shook his head "Mariposa."

"Please." Mariposa's wings began flapping again "Just go home." then she flew away.

Carlos stared after her then sighed "Be careful, Mariposa."

**(Okay, in case my writing is to confusing, Henna can control when the lights turn off, but she can't tun them back on... So I hope you enjoy! Thanks for the Reviews! Sorry for such the long spaces between updates. Wifi is hard to get to in my family:( Laterz!)**


	4. A Riddle

"**Okay.****" ****Mariposa said** as she and Zee flew towards the edge of Shimmervale "Trolls. I've never met a troll. You?"

"Nu-huh!" Zee said emphatically "Good thing too!"

Mariposa looked back at the city of Crystalites behind them "You ready?"

"No!"

"Then let's go!" She grabbed the puffball and took off "We've got to cover as much ground as possible before it gets dark."

Zee just groaned "Yadda yadda yadda. Do you even remember how to get there?"

"Mm-hm." Mariposa nodded "We head towards the Cecitanni Mountains." she pointed towards some tall shadowy figures in the distance "That way."

"Maybe you should get Willa." Zee suggested "You know?"

"Willa's in Shimmervale." the fairy replied "And it's far behind us now."

Zee sighed "Oh boy."

"**She's going where!?" **Willa exclaimed "She's going to face Henna and her army of Skeezites alone!?"

Carlos nodded solemnly "It's not the first time she's faced danger." everyone knew he was just trying to reassure them... and himself.

"But she was never alone!" Will added exasperated "When the lights went out the first time she was with Rayna and Rayla! Don't envy her there, but... Then she had a flutterPixie with her! With Gwillion she had Catania!"

Talayla nodded slowly "Why didn't you go with?"

"She wouldn't let us." Carlos answered "I tried." he looked down at his shoes "I was hoping maybe you could catch up with her."

"With those Mundo Wings?" Willa shook her head "You have to be kiddin'!"

"And besides," Talayla added "Willa nor I know anything about the Bewilderness or anything else." a slow smile crossed her face "We don't read."

Catania and Carlos looked at each other.

"You know." The Crystal Princess said "She didn't say _I _couldn't come. And suppose I take you with me?"

Carlos nodded, his face instantly lighting up "Let's go!"

Willa and Talayla watched as the Prince and Princess flew away.

"I am so not telling their parents!" Willa said quickly.

"Someone has to." Talayla glanced at the Crystal Palace "I tell Marabella!"

Willa groaned "Aw man!"

"**We should be **there soon." Mariposa sighed.

Zee looked around then looked at the butterfly fairy "You lonely?"

"A little bit." Mariposa answered "It's just... I've never done something like this without another fairy." her hugged herself "I'm kind of scared. Maybe I should have let Carlos come."

"Um... Mariposa."

"No. Definitely not."

"Mariposa..."

"If anything ever happened to him I'd..."

"MARIPOSA!"  
"What?"

Zee turned Mariposa around "AHH!"

Flying right at them were a whole band of skeezites!

Mariposa's gaze flew to the sun to see it almost completely below the horizon.

"Oh no... How could I have not noticed!?"

"You were worrying!" Zee answered "Now it's my turn... AHHH!"

Mariposa grabbed the puffball and sped off. Her large wings giving her an advantage over the skeezites.

"We're gonna die!" Zee screamed "Good bye, Anu!"

Up ahead, she spotted the Bewilderness, and all it's jumbled vines that had gaps big enough for a fairy to enter but not a Skeezite.

She dove through one of the gaps and listened as the skeeztes whammed straight into the thick vines.

"Why does she do that every time?" One of them groaned.

"We'd better tell the little lady." Another one said.

Mariposa looked over at Zee "Henna. We'd better hurry."

"When the sun rises." Zee added "We stop now!"

Mariposa looked up at the darkening sky "You're right. We'd better stop and find somewhere safe to sleep."

**As soon as **the sun rose the next morning, Mariposa and Zee set off again.

The puffball hummed some parade music and bopped around while Mariposa watched for the stone mermaid with the flower that marked the center of the Bewilderness.

"She said it's not in the exact middle." she said to herself "But it's somewhere close." she looked around "I wish Zinzy was still here. She'd probably know exactly where to go."

Zee turned in several circles "Do trolls live underground?"

Mariposa pulled a book out of her pouch and flipped through it "They... live anywhere. From clouds to underground."

"So there might be trolls beneath us!?"

"Yeah."

"Spooky!"

Mariposa returned her book to it's place and looked around. The only thing that was anywhere near was... trees. Lots and lots of trees. Bit trees. Little trees. A **HUGE **tree, and a couple the size of a mouse. Dead ones, live ones. She shivered as a cold wind blew by "Looks like rain."

"AHH!" Zee screeched as a bolt of lighting split the sky.

Dark clouds covered the sun, casting a cold dark shadow on the world below.

"We'd better find some shelter." Mariposa said "Skeezites come out during storms because it's dark."

Zee looked around frantically then spotted a small cave "There!" without waiting a second, she dove for it.

Mariposa followed, and pretty soon was watching as large drops of water began to pound the earth.

About five minutes later, they could hear Skeezites shouting to each other over the rain and thunder.

"I don't think there's any butterfly fairies out in this weather!" One shouted.  
"It never hurts to look!" Another answered.

There was several minutes of silence before a very loud, excited skeezite shouted "Look! Fairies!"

Mariposa gasped and looked out the opening to the small cave. She could see the skeezites chasing someone, but she couldn't see who.

**Catania and Carlos **had just reached the center of the Bewilderness when it had started pouring rain.

"Cold cold cold cold cold!" Catania squealed "COLD!"

Carlos chuckled slightly "Come on. There's got to be somewhere to get out of the rain."

"I hope so. This rain is cold!"

"Look! Fairies!" something shouted behind them.

"Skeezites!" Carlos groaned "Come on!" he immediately picked up speed, Catania right behind him.

"Yummy!" one of the five that were following laughed "Fairy fairy fairy!"

Because of the rain, the two fairies couldn't fly as fast as usual... unlike the skeezites.

"We're never going to make it!" Catania cried.

Just then, something pink shot towards them from the ground, and the next thing they knew, someone grabbed their wrists and they were being pulled through the rain at lightning speed.

"What are you two doing here!?" Mariposa asked, weaving through the trees.

"We came to help you!" Catania answered, flapping her wings as fast as possible "We couldn't let you do it on your own!"

"Down!" Mariposa dove under a partially fallen tree, then listened as a couple of skeezites ran into it "It's too dangerous!"

"And it's too dangerous for you to be alone!" Carlos responded "And it's too late to go back now!"

Mariposa glanced over her shoulder "We've still got two right behind us! Hang on!" her wings began to beat even faster.

"Whoa!" Catania gasped "Fast!"

Just then, a HUGE tree came into view, bigger than any of them had ever seen before.

A large hole close to the bottom opened and a short creature began to wave at them "Come on! Hurry! Down here!"

"Do you think it's safe?" Catania asked.

Mariposa shrugged "I don't think we have a choice!" then she dove straight down towards the tree.

As soon as they flew through, the hole was slammed back shut and a loud ***THUD*** from the skeezites followed.

"Thank you." Mariposa said around gasps of air.

"I... have never... flown that fast." Carlos huffed "My wings couldn't keep up!"

"Mine either!" Catania said "Mariposa! You can fly!"

Mariposa laughed "Sorry." then she turned to their rescuer. Her eyebrows raised "You're... a troll!"

The short creature nodded "Yep."

Catania smiled brightly "Just who we're looking for!"

The troll smiled "Hi! I'm Hervey, the lead troll!" Hervey was about three feet tall, his skin a greenish color. He had whisps of orange hair on top of his head and an orange mustache. His hands, feet and ears were quite large.

"I'm Mariposa." Mariposa smiled then motioned to the other two "This is Prince Carlos and Princess Catania."

"Ah! From Flutterfield and Shimmervale!" Hervey nodded "Well, since you found our hideout the easy way, your four riddles are going to be extra hard!"

"Okay."

Hervey cleared his throat "You throw away the outside and cook the inside. Then you eat the outside and throw away the inside. What did you eat?" he crossed his arms and waited.

Marposa smiled "An ear of corn. You throw away the husks and cook the corn. Then you eat the corn then throw away the cob."

"Hm. You are smart." the troll scratched his head "Okay. Here's the next one. What goes up and down stairs without moving?"

"A rug." Carlos answered "There are _several _of those in the castle."

Hervey frowned "I'll have to think up a harder one. Let's see... Aha! I can run but not walk. Wherever I Go, thought follows close behind."

Catania giggled "It's your nose!"

Mariposa smiled "One more?"

"You are a trio of the some of the smartest fairies I've ever met!" Hervey said "How did you know those so fast?"

"We like to read." Mariposa answered.

"Oh." The troll nodded "Okay. Last question. It's only inside but can be seen from the out. And though only two can share it, millions can find it. What is it?"

Mariposa's eyebrows lowered "Umm..." she looked over at Catania.

"Sounds like a milkshake." Catania said "But that isn't right."

Hervey's eyebrows lurched "You don't know the answer?" he pointed to Mariposa and Carlos "I thought _you two _would have caught it!"

Mariposa and Carlos looked at each other confused. What was the answer?


	5. Wing Problems

**Catania was stressing **her mind trying to figure out what the answer was _"Mariposa and Carlos should know?" _She thought _"Must be something from Flutterfield." _She watched as Mariposa looked over at Carlos, still confused. The prince smiled and raised his eyebrows.

Mariposa chuckled slightly then went back to thinking.

Catania's eyes widened "Oh!" she said as she clamped her hands over her mouth.

Hervey grinned at her "I take it you figured it out?"

Catania nodded.

"What is it?" Mariposa asked.

"If you two can't figure it out, then I will allow her to say." The troll walked over to Catania and whispered "Do they not know or something?"

Catania shrugged "It's hard to determine with those two." she whispered "I don't know if they don't realize it or are just to shy to show it."

Hervey nodded "Maybe this journey will change that." he pointed to where the two butterfly fairies were standing facing each other.

Carlos was staring at Mariposa trying to figure out what Hervey had meant.

About that time, she looked up and met his gaze, her brown eyes taking on a slight sparkle.

Carlos couldn't help the small smile that crept across his face. Then he blinked. Wait. What was he supposed to be doing?

Mariposa couldn't seemto look away from the Prince's aqua colored eyes... especially when he started smiling. Wait. What _had _she been doing? It was something about a toll... maybe.

Oh yeah! The riddle.

Just then, both of their eyes widened as they suddenly realized the answer and quickly looked away from each other.

Hervey smiled "Catania. Would you like to say the answer?"

Catania clasped her hands behind her back "It's true love."

Hervey nodded "There is no greater power in the world than true love." there was a long moment of silence, then the troll clapped his hands "Alright! Come along."

The three fairies looked at each other than followed.

"We need to get to a whirlpool that will take us to some mermaids." Mariposa said ducking through a small entrance.

"I know." Hervey responded "But I'm afraid the tunnel to get to the whirlpool only opens early in the morning."

"Oh."

"You may as well come eat."

Carlos raised a curious eyebrow "Eat? Eat what?"

Hervey glanced mischievously as Mariposa and winked "Oh you know. Stuff."

"Yep." Mariposa added "Protein. Stuff without a name."

"Mainly because no one can think of what to call it!" The troll said dramatically.

Catania turned slightly green "I'm... not really hungry."

Mariposa and Hervey looked at each other right before they burst out laughing.

"Wait." Carlos said a moment later "Trolls are vegetarians. You eat fruits and berries. Right?"

Hervey nodded "Right. That's giants that grind bones to make bread. We eat the good stuff." he winked at Catania "And worm and grubs are not on our list."

Catania giggled "Good to know."

"And, here we are!" Hervey ushered them into a large room that was swarming with trolls caring bows and baskets of food.

"Uh..." Mariposa looked back at her wings.

Even though the room was large, it had been set up to fit the needs of the trolls.

Hervey glanced back at her "Ooh. Just watch where you put 'em."

Mariposa laughed "That's gotten me in more trouble than anything." she shrugged "I know how to get them out of the way." thus saying, she grabbed the ends of her wings and folded them down.

Hervey stared at her wide eyed "Ow."

"It's not that bad."

"If you insist."

Catania smiled then quickly pulled her wings down "Shall we?"

Carlos shook his head "I think I'll leave mine."

The two girls laughed.

Hervey nodded "I think yours will be fine, Prince Carlos." then he shouted into the room "We have guests!"

All the other trolls started cheering, and one came over to them.

She was a bit shorter than Hervey but with the same color hair "It's nice to have you here." she said with a smile. Then she looked back and forth between Mariposa and Catania "I though Butterfly fairies and Crystal fairies were rivals."

"We were." Mariposa answered "Right up until a few months ago."

Catania nodded "We dissolved out differences."

The troll slapped Hervey's arm "I told you we needed to get out more!"

Hervey shrugged "This is my sister, Haulley."

Haulley waved for them to follow her "Please, come eat."

Zee nodded in satisfaction "Food food food!" then she looked around "Anu?"

Catania shook her head "He couldn't come."

"Oh."

All day, the fairies listened to stories and played with the trolls, even though they were all anxious to get going.

Finally the sun set, and the trolls decided to throw a party.

Carlos was watching Catania dance with the trolls when he suddenly realized that Mariposa was missing.

He quickly glanced around but saw no sign of her "Where did she go?" he mumbled to himself.

Just then, he saw a large shadow on the floor that looked like a pair of wings.

He looked up and smiled.

The top of the tree was chopped off, which allowed the moon light to shine in. Mariposa was sitting on the ledge looking up at the stars.

Carlos quickly flew up to where she was and sat down beside her "Everything okay?"

"Yeah." Mariposa nodded "I just hoped we'd be in fairytopia by now. The skeezites are going to tell Henna we're here."

"It's going to be okay." Carlos said encouragingly "I promise."

She glanced over at him and smiled, then looked back up at the stars.

There was silence for a few moments before Carlos spoke "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"Why did you want to come alone?"

She looked over at him, her face unreadable "I didn't." she answered quietly "But I didn't want anything to happen to you. Or Catania." she shook her head "You're the only heir to Flutterfield, as Catania is to Shimmervale. They need you." she looked down towards the ground "Why did you come?"

"As you said, I'm the Prince of Flutterfield." He said "I do whatever I can to keep it's people safe." then in his mind he added _"Especially you."_

"But what if something happens to you?"

"Nothing will." somehow, his hand ended up on top of her's that was laying between them "I promise."

Mariposa looked down at their hands, then his face "How do you know?"

He smiled softly "You just have to believe me."

They just stared at each other for a long moment. Then, ever so slowly, Carlos leaned over towards her and she felt powerless to move.

They were barely an inch apart when laughter below caused them to look down.

Catania was still having the time of her life dancing with the trolls.

Carlos felt Mariposa pull her hand out from beneath his, then she placed it in her lap.

He couldn't really tell in the dark, but he thought her cheeks had taken on a pinkish tint.

"Well," he said a moment later to break the tension "Would you like to join the party?"

Mariposa shook her head and smiled "No thank you. You go ahead and have fun."

Carlos nodded and sent her one last smile, then he went and rejoined the trolls.

Mariposa smiled to herself and looked up at the stars.

"**They're coming!?" Henna **shrieked "What do they think they're going to do? Stop me?"

"Well," one skeezite said "They got away because the trolls let them in."

"The trolls?" Henna nodded slowly "Of course. They're going to go get the key from the Enchantress that will allow them to pass through the wall." she turned to the creatures "GO to Fairytopia and stop them!"

"Fairytopia?" several skeezites echoed.

"Yes! They have no lights there at night! Find Mariposa, Carlos and Catania and get rid of them! Then you can eat as many fairies as you want from Fairytopia!"

"What kind of fairies are there?" One skeezite asked.

"Several kinds. Now just go!" Henna watched as they left and shook her head "Mariposa thinks she's going to stop me again? I think not! This time Mariposa is going to be destroyed!"

**Early the next** morning, Hervey led the trio to a part of the tree they had not seen.

"It should open in a moment." the troll said "You'll have to crawl, but it'll get you there." He shook their hands "Good luck."

"Do we have a time limit to get out of there?" Catania asked.

"Yes." Hervey nodded "Fifteen minutes. But it's only a ten minute crawl. You'll know when the tunnel's about to close because there's several holes that sunlight shine through. When the sun passes, it'll close."

A second later, part of the tree wall began to move, revealing a small tunnel.

"We'd better get going." Carlos said "Ladies first?"

"Go ahead." Catania retorted.

Carlos rolled his eyes and crawled into the tunnel "It's not too terribly small."

Catania followed "Yeah. I can just lay my wings straight back." then she froze "Wings. Mariposa."

Mariposa sighed "I'm right behind you." she pulled her wings down to a skirt and looked at Hervey "Thank you."

The troll stared at her doubtfully "You're going to crawl _on _your wings?"

"I don't have a choice." Mariposa sent him a smile, then crawled after the other two "Let's go."

It was a slow painful process through the dirt tunnel. Several times, Mariposa had to pause to give her wings a rest from dragging on the ground and being crawled on.

"Are you okay?" Catania asked, looking over her shoulder.

"Yeah. Keep going."

What seemed like an eternity later, Carlos announced that he could see the end of the tunnel. A few moments later, he crawled out and stretched.

"Oh, that feels good."

Catania followed "No kidding."

Mariposa was about to crawl out when her wings suddenly stiffened "Oh no." then they popped open, not able to stay down any longer.

"Mariposa?" Catania leaned down and looked into the tunnel "Are you coning?"

Mariposa tried to move, but her large wings were bracketed around the small enclosure.

"Mariposa?" Carlos asked slowly "What's wrong?"

She watched as the sunlight began to leave the last hole. The tunnel would be closing soon! Once again she tried to move, but got nowhere.

"What's wrong?" Catania asked again.

Mariposa looked at her wings then at them "I'm stuck."

**(Yay! Everyone guessed the riddle! Either everyone is _really _smart or I'm a bad Riddle maker... it's probably both. Anyhoo... Thanks for all the Reviews, favs and follows Folkz! Laterz!)**


	6. The Mirror of Uncertainty

Catania and Carlos looked at each other in alarm.

"The tunnel will close any second!" Catania exclaimed.

Carlos nodded "We have to get her out."

"How?"

"I don't know."

Mariposa tried once again to pull herself free, but her wings were holding firmly. She tried to get them to wrap back around, but there wasn't enough room.

Carlos got down on his knees and held a hand out to her "Grab my hand!"

Mariposa stared at him for a second then obeyed, forcing herself to ignore the butterflies in her stomach.

Carlos got a firm grip on her hand and pulled.

Her wings gave way a little bit.

"Couldn't this hurt her wings?" Catania whispered.

Carlos nodded "That's why we have to take it slow."

"Slow isn't an option anymore!" Mariposa cried "Catania! Grab my other hand and pull!"

"But your wings!" Catania said, a bit unsure.

"Don't worry about my wings! We just have to get me out of here! I don't want to be stuck for twenty-four hours like this!" she looked up at the last hole "Please! Just hurry!"

Catania grabbed Mariposa's free hand and she and Carlos both began to pull.

Mariposa slowly began to inch forward.

A low groan came from the tunnel.

"Time's up!" Carlos mumbled.

"One... more... pull!" Catania gasped "On three! THREE!"

Carlos and Catania gave one final pull and Mariposa came flying out, knocking the two royals over in the process.

She pulled her feet out of the way right before the tunnel door slammed closed "That was too close."

"No kidding!" Catania sighed with relief "I thought we weren't going to make it!"

Carlos huffed and shook his head "We are definitely _not _coming back this way if we can help it."

"Agreed." the two girls echoed.

The prince got to his feet and helped the two up "Are your wings okay?"

Mariposa flapped them a little "They're a little scratched, but they're fine. Thank you, so much." she shook her head "Sometimes I think these wings are more trouble than they're worth."

Carlos shrugged "They suit you though."

One of her eyebrows raised "Big, obnoxious and always in the way?" she asked teasingly.

"No. They're beautiful." Carlos suddenly began to cough uncontrollably as he realized his slip "W-w-we should g-get g-g-going." his face was beet red.

"Yeah. We should." Catania giggled.

Mariposa watched as Carlos walked away _"It was just a slip up." _she thought _"He didn't mean it. Not like that anyways."_

"Did they happen to say where the whirlpool was?" Carlos asked a few minutes later.

Catania and Mariposa glanced at each other "No."

"It's right this way!" Hervey said, popping out from a tree.

Mariposa stared at the troll "Please don't tell me there was another way!"

Hervey grinned sheepishly "I don't have a very good memory. Follow me!"

"To where?" Catania asked unsure.

"To the whirlpool of course!"

The three fairies looked at each other and shrugged. Then they flew after the troll.

Hervey talked about everything under the sun as he walked along.

Carlos fell back with Mariposa "You'd think we weren't in a hurry." he chuckled.

Mariposa shook her head "The books do say that they have a tendency to lollygag." they both laughed quietly. They flew in silence for a while before she finally spoke "Thank you... for coming." she sighed "There's no telling how long I'd have been stuck in there if you and Catania hadn't come."

Carlos smiled "I'm just glad I _was _there."

Mariposa looked back straight ahead, desperately trying to fight the heat that was creeping up her cheeks. Why did he have to do that to her? She couldn't help wondering if he had that effect on all girls. That was probably a yes.

"Here we are." Hervey announced a few moments later "Just jump in and you'll be there."

Mariposa raised an eyebrow "Um... breathe."

"Right!" Hervey ran into some bushes then came back with a handful of berries "Here you go."

Carlos shook his head "Let's hope he remembered which berry it was."

Mariposa laughed then popped a couple of the berries into her mouth "Let's go." then she dove straight into the whirlpool.

Catania gulped "Why does she never hesitate?"

"I have no idea." Carlos answered "Let's go.' then they jumped in.

The whirlpool shot them straight into the water, tumbling head over heel. When they finally emerged on the other side, they were dizzy.

Mariposa laughed "Fun, right?"

Catania closed her eyes "There has to have been another way."

"Oh look." A voice behind them said "It's that fairy again."

Mariposa glanced over her shoulder and sighed "Anemone and Coral."

The two mermaids just looked at each other.

"You know these two?" Carlos asked.

"Yeah. We asked them for help last time."

"Don't tell me." Anemone said "You need the Illios antidote again?"

"Actually, no." Mariposa answered "We need shown the way to Mermaidia. Prince Nalu."

"Oh." Coral said "Whatevs." then the two turned to swim off.

Catania looked over at Carlos and shrugged "Now what?"

Mariposa groaned "What do you want?" she called after the mermaids.

"Well," Coral answered "Did you bring us something, I don't know."

"Beautiful." the two mermaids finished together.

Catania looked down at her crystalite "Do you think they would take it?"

"But, Catania." Mariposa shook her head "That's _your _crystalite!"

"There are millions of them in Shimmervale." Catania pulled her neckless off and held it out "Do have a deal?"

"Do you like, have one for both of us?" Anemone asked.

Mariposa pulled off her own necklace "Here."

"Alrght." the two mermaids took the necklaces and put them on. Then they swam away "Follow us!"

"Truly impossible." Carlos mumbled "What happened last time you met them?"

Mariposa chuckled, remembering the conckle shells and sea beast "Don't ask."

They swam for nearly an hour. Anemone and Coral just talked back and forth the whole time about their clothes and hair.

"Well," Coral finally said "There's Mermaidia. Bye." then the two swam off.

"Okay..." Carlos looked around "How are we going to find the Prince?"

"I guess we ask around." Mariposa answered "Surely _someone _will know."

"Hi." A blue haired mermaid said, swimming up to them "Can I help you fairies find something?"

The three looked at each other. This mermaid was acting like she was used to seeing fairies under the water.

"We're looking for Prince Nalu." Carlos spoke "Do you know where we can find him?"

"Sure do." the mermaid answered with a laugh "My name is Nori, by the way. Follow me."

"Thank goodness. She seems nice." Catania said "Unlike those other two."

"Nalu's at the Crystal Cove." Nori said to them "That's his favorite place. I was actually on my way there."she led them up to the surface where a brown haired merman was lounging on a rock "Nalu. These fairies were looking for you."

"Hello." Nalu greeted "What can I help you with?"

"Well," Mariposa answered "We're looking for the Mirror of Uncertainty."

The merprince nodded slowly "I see. Come with me." he dove into the water.

Catania sighed "When do we get _out _of the water?"

"After this." Carlos answered "After this we go to see the Enchantress."

"Why the Mirror of Uncertainty?" Nalu asked as he led them deep into the water.

"I don't know." Mariposa asked "We have to get to the other side of the Bewilderness. Part of our instructions were to stop by here."

"I see." As they entered some darker waters Nalu spoke again "The Mirror of Uncertainty will show you anything about the past that you're unsure about. Kind of like the Mirror of the Mist. Only this one isn't in the Depths of Despair."

"Thank goodness." Catania mumbled.

"So, think of what you do not know and ask." Nalu continued "It will answer only the question that you wonder about the most." when they reached a cave, he stopped "Go on in. I'll wait for you here."

The three swam through a long, dark tunnel. Seaweed grew up on all sides and small fishes swam past.

Finally the tunnel opened out into a large room. Right in the middle was a huge mirror in a gold swirling frame.

A Jellyfish swam towards them "Can I help you?" it asked.

"We're here to see the mirror." Catania answered.

"Of course." The Jellyfish looked at each other them in turn "What about your past would you like to know?"

Carlos thought then shrugged "Nothing."

Catania shrugged too "I know all I need to know... I think."

The Jellyfish turned to Mariposa "And you?"

She looked at her two friends then at the mirror and bit her lip.

"I can tell there's something in your past that you would like to know." the jellyfish said gently "Tell me. What would you like to know about?"

Mariposa took a deep breath then finally answered "My family."

**(I don't know about you, but I always wondered about Mariposa's family... and Elina's, but she's another story. Thanks for all the support guyz! And as a request from a reviewer, I updated both Barbie stories at once. This one _and _Mattel High! As well as my Robin Hood. That's a lot of typing, let me tell you! Well, Laterz!)**


	7. Rose

Carlos and Catania looked at each other mystified.

"Now I feel aweful." Catania whispered "I... never really thought about her having a family."

"Me either." Carlos answered.

The Jellyfish nodded and swam over to the mirror "Show the answer to her past. Let her see what she never has."

Smoke began to swirl inside the mirror, when it faded, it showed a young golden haired, brown eyed fairy working over something, her face set in determination.

"Definitely your mother." Carlos mumbled.

_The fairy in the mirror picked up a flower that looked like the Flutterfield lights and smiled "Perfect."_

_A knock sounded on the door behind her "Rose? Can I come in?"_

Carlos's eyebrows lurched "That sounds like..."

"_Come on in." Rose answered._

_The door opened and Marabella flew in "How's it going?"_

"_I think we may have a solution." Rose said with a smile "Try it."_

_Marabella nodded and picked up the flower. A few seconds later, it lit up._

"_We did it!" Rose laughed "We actually did it!"_

_Marabella looked at the light "It's beautiful. Do you think it will work?"_

"_We've hung thousands of them up all over Flutterfield. It should be enough the keep the Skeezites out." Rose smiled sadly "If only we'd discovered it before our... you know."_

_Marabella sat the flower down "I know. Where is she anyways?"_

_A small laugh sounded from somewhere in the room. Rose smiled and walked over to a small cradle that was against the wall "Good morning, my little Butterfly!" She reached into the small bed and lifted a small child with sparkling hot pink wings out._

Catania's eyes widened "That _has _to be you! You are _soooo_ cute!"

Mariposa stared at the image as she bit her lip. What had happened to her parents?

"_She is so precious!." Marabella said, looking down at the child "It's so hard to think that her father was eaten by the skeezites."_

"_That will never happen again after tonight." Rose said "By the way. Where's..."_

_Before she could finish her sentence, a two year old boy shot out from under one of the tables._

"_Carlos." She finished with a laugh._

Catania and Mariposa both burst out laughing at the sight of the young brown haired boy.

Carlos smiled nervously "Great."

_The young prince walked over to Rose and looked up at her then attempted to fly up to see the child in her arms. His wings flapped as fast as they could, but only resulted in getting him about three inches off the ground. He grunted then jumped, and once again flapped his wings as hard and fast as he could. This time, he managed to make it up enough to see infant._

"_Oooh!" He said with a toothy grin, then he looked up at Rose "Purty!" he forgot to keep flying and fell right back to the floor._

Once again, Mariposa and Catania doubled over in laughter.

Carlos shrugged and stuck his hands in his pockets "I'm like two!"

Mariposa glanced at him, her eyes sparkling. But he did notice that her cheeks had taken on a rosey color.

_Rose sat her daughter down on the floor and Carlos immediately sat in front of her and smiled._

"_I'll take these last few and put them up, just as extra security." she said, grabbing an armload of the flowers "We'll see how it goes."_

"_Be careful." Marabella warned "Please."_

"_I will." Rose said, picking her daughter up "I'll see you tomorrow."_

_Marabella grabbed Carlos and followed Rose out the door "Alright. I hope this works."_

"_I'm sure it will."_

_The two said their goodbys, then Rose flew off._

"I can't believe your mother helped create the lights!" Catania said "That's amazing."

Mariposa continued to stare at the mirror "I... don't thinks it's over yet."

_Rose flew across flutterfield, greeting a few people as she went. Whenever someone asked about the flowers she'd been hanging, she'd just smile and wink "You shall see."_

_After a bit, she reached the border of the kingdom and hung the last light "Now to go home." she said._

_Just then, a skeezite flew at her "Butterfly fairy!"_

_Rose gasped "They're early!" she spun around and flew off as quick as she could, clutching her baby to her chest._

_Several more skeezites appeared "Hungry!" they mumbled "Butterfly fairy!"_

_Rose's heart was in her throat as she dodged through trees, trying to escape the monsters following behind "It's no use." she realized as she quickly dove towards the ground. She ducked behind a tree and listened as the skeezites flew past "Good bye sweetheart." she whispered. Then she placed the baby inside a hole in the tree._

"_There's the fairy!" A skeezite said._

_Rose quickly rose back into the air and flew away, the skeezites right behind, never to seem again._

Mariposa shook her head slowly "I..."

Carlos and Catania both placed a hand on her shoulder.

"She died by the very thing she was trying to protects us from." Carlos said quietly "I'm sorry."

"But... what happened to Mariposa after that?" Catania asked.

The Jellyfish nodded slightly and the image in the mirror changed.

_Skeezites were invading the kingdom, fairies were flying for their lives._

_And old couple were hurrying towards their house, so far managing to stay out of sight, when the lady grabbed her husband's arm "Listen."_

_They both stopped._

_A second later the sound of a baby's cry reached their ears._

"_There's a child out here!" the lady gasped "But where and why?"_

"_Go on home." the man instructed "I'll see if I can find it."_

Mariposa sighed "This part I know."

_The old fairy followed the sound, being sure to stay under leaves and flowers as he went. Then he saw her._

_A small girl about one year old sitting on the ground looking lost and scared._

"_Hey look at that!" A skeezite shouted "An appetizer!"_

_The man looked up to see a band of skeezites heading straight for the baby "Oh no." he shot from his cover of the plants and snatched the child from the ground, then he took off for his home as fast as his old wings would allow._

"_Hey! Our dinner stole our snack!" One of the creatures shouted._

"_Is that possible?" Another asked._

_The man could feel the skeezite's breath on his heels as he flew for home. He didn't dare breath a sigh of relief when his house came into view._

_His wife was standing in the doorway waving to him._

_As soon as he was in the door, she slammed it shut._

_A THUD followed as the beasts rammed into their walls._

"_Aw man!" A skeezite whined "Hey come out! We just want to eat you."_

_The couple let out large huffs of air and relaxed._

"_I think I just ages ten more years." the older man teased._

_The woman smiled and looked at the child in his arms "Oh my!"_

_The man smiled "I don't think she was abandoned." he said sadly "I think her mother didn't hide fast enough."_

"_Surely she's got a parent somewhere." The lady said "We'll wait and see if someone starts looking for her."_

_All of the sudden, light started filling in the windows._

"_LIGHT!" The skeezites shouted as they tried to escape "Get me out of here."_

_The couple looked at each other and slowly opened their door. Other fairies were starting to come out of hiding to find out what was going on._

_Marabella was flying between some lights smiling "The skeezites will never bother us again." she announced, then she looked around trying to spot her friend, but Rose was nowhere in sight._

_Marabella sighed and shook her head "As long as I live, these lights will forever glow!"_

_Everyone began to cheer, glad that the threat was finally over._

_The old couple looked at each other and grinned._

_The young girl started giggling and clapping her hands._

"_She's so precious." The lady said "Like a Butterfly."_

_The man nodded "Just like a little Mariposa."_

"And that's how I got my name." Mariposa added "They died eleven years later, when I was twelve. That's when I started working for Raina and Rayla." she chuckled slightly "They're also the reason I love to read."

"Without showing us," Catania said to the Jellyfish "Can you tell us what _exactly _happened to Rose?"

The Jellyfish looked down at it's tenticles "As assumed. She didn't escape the skeezites."

Mariposa nodded slowly "Thank you." then she turned and swam towards the exit of the cave, the other two following.

**Queen Marabella watched **as another set of lights went out "Please make it in time." she sighed and shook her head "I wonder if this would be happening if you were still here, Rose. You were the main source that kept these lights glowing."

**(You will find out more about Mariposa's mother as the story progresses. I hope you enjoy! Laterz!)**


	8. Elina

Nalu was waiting for the trio "Did you learn what you needed to know?"

"Nope." Zee said.

"I don't know." Mariposa answered with a shrug "It's something I've been _wanting _to know but I don't think it's important to our quest."

"Do you know where we can find the enchantress?" Carlos asked.

Nalu nodded "I know someone who can take you there. Follow me." he took them back to the surface then pointed to the west "If you go straight that way you'll come to the Magic Meadow. Find Elina. She'll get you to the Crystal Palace."

"Thank you." Catania waved at him then the three flew off.

By time they reached the Magic Meadow, the sun was starting to set.

"It's kind of strange no having to worry about Skeezites showing up in the dark." Mariposa commented "But it's nice too."

Carlos nodded in agreement "I know. There's no lights here."

"We don't generally need them." A voice said behind them.

The three spun around to see a fairy with golden hair and bright rainbow wings.

"I'm Elina." She said "I don't think I've seen you here before."

"We're passing through." Mariposa answered "And I think you're the one we were looking for. The Merprince Nalu said you could take us to the Crystal Palace."

Zee eyed the other fairy doubtfully.

Elina smiled and nodded "I can. It's a bit of a flight though. If we started off now we might could be there before morning."

"That would be great!" Mariposa answered emphatically "If you don't mind..."

"Of course not. I'm getting the feeling it's urgent."

"It is."

"Totally." Zee added.

"Then follow me."

After several minutes, Catania spoke "Are you... the same Elina from the books?"

"Books?" Elina glanced back at her "I... don't think so."

"Wait! She's right!" Mariposa said "I knew you looked familiar! You've defeated the Enchantresses twin, Laverna, three times, right?"

Elina's eyebrows raised "Ye-s." she shook her head "I didn't think I'd land in a book."

"Are you kidding!?" Catania exclaimed "You're amazing!"

"I don't know about that." The flower fairy shrugged "I never could have done it without help. _Lots _of help. But enough about me. Who are you?"

After introducing themselves, Elina turned to Mariposa "You're the one who saved Flutterfield and brought peace between the butterfly fairies and the Crystal Fairies, right?"

"I wouldn't go that far." Mariposa answered.

"She did." Carlos, Catania and Zee said in unison.

It wasn't long til the sun set, casting everything around into almost complete darkness.

Zee bopped around, one second humming and the next dodging behind Mariposa's back and looking around cautiously.

"Trying to remind myself that there aren't any skeezites around here." Mariposa chuckled "It's a habit to be a bit jumpy."

"I understand." Elina smiled "But here..."

"There they are!"

all four of them looked around.

"That sounded like a skeezite." Carlos said "But that's not possible!"

"Think again!" Catania cried "Look!"

A whole band of skeezites broke from the trees and headed straight for the group.

Zee screamed and flew into Mariposa's arms.

"Why are they here?" Elina gasped.

"Henna must have sent them!" Mariposa answered "Come on!"

The chase went on for several minutes, the skeezites inching closer and closer.

"We can't get away!" Catania cried "We're gonners!"

"Not yet!" Elina stopped and spun around, immediately shooting a ray of blue luminescence right into one of the skeezites eyes.

"Oi! That hurts!" it cried, veering off track.

"Wow." Carlos mumbled while Zee let out a triumphant 'WooHoo!'

Elina created as big a ray as she could and aimed it at the beasts "There's too many of them!"

Just then, a green flash of light few by, striking another skeezite.

Elina gasped "Linden!"

Zee slightly rolled over "How many light shooters are there?"

The Oriad smiled as he came up beside Elina "I take it I have good timing."

"Better than good. Perfect!" Elina laughed.

Between her and Linden, it wasn't long till the skeezites were fleeing.

"That... was... AMAZING!" Catania squealed "I can't believe it!"

"Mariposa, Catania, Carlos. Meet Linden." Elina said "He's a friend of mine."

"Hi." Linden greeted "What are y'all doing you here in the middle of the night?"

Elina quickly brought him up to date "Then we ran into the skeezites."

"I'm sorry." Carlos said "They wouldn't be here if we weren't."

"Don't worry." Elina said encouragingly "I'm sure everything will be fine. Come on, we've still got a long way to go."

When the sun started rising above the horizon, the Crystal Palace came into view.

"Ooooh!" Zee squealed "Sparkly!"

"It looks like something that would be in Shimmervale." Catania said.

Elina chuckled "It _is _huge. Come."

As they approached the castle, the guards standing around simply nodded to the group and allowed them to pass on by.

"Why do I get a lsight feeling that this isn't normal?" Carlos whispered to Mariposa.

She shrugged "Because most fairies aren't allowed to just fly through the castle gates."

Linden fell back to join them "It's because of Elina. After rescuing Fairytopia for the third time, she was granted access to the palace and anywhere really. Everyone trusts and loves her."

Mariposa couldn't help but catch the slight change of tone in his voice when he spoke of the rainbow winged fairy. She smiled to herself but said nothing.

Elina pushed open the palace gates and led them into the throne room where the Enchantress was "Your Highness."

"Hello Elina." The Enchantress smiled and flew over to greet the small group "Is something wrong?"

Elina looked over at Mariposa who nodded "I'm afraid so."

"Come with me." The Enchantress led the group to a smaller room "How can I help you?"

"We've come from Flutterfield." Mariposa started "The lights are going out! We believe that a fairy in our realm named Henna, has figured out how to drain the power from the flutterfeld lights. And if she does that..."

"The skeezites will come back." Carlos finished for her."

"We were told that you have the key to get through to the rest of the Bewilderness." Catania continued "Henna somehow found a way through and is living over there."

The Enchantress nodded slowly "I see." she walked over to a nearby window and looked out "I can't give that key to just anyone. It could be dangerous for it to land in the wrong hands." she turned back to face them "Tell me your names and your parents'."

Carlos started "Carlos. My mother is Queen Marabella of Flutterfield."

The Enchantresses face lit up "Ah, Marabella. I remember her well. We were good friends."

"I'm Catania." The Crystal fairy spoke "My father is King Regillious of Shimmervale."

"Yes, I know him."

"I'm Mariposa." Mariposa said slowly "My mother was Rose... from Flutterfield."

The Enchantress stared at her for a long moment "You mother was Rose?"

"Yes."

"I knew her too. I knew her before I had no choice but to cut Flutterfield off." she slowly shook her head "Your mother created the lights. Did you know that?"

"I know she _helped_ create them." Mariposa answered "Figured that out a few hours ago."

"It's actually a bit more than that." The Enchantress said "Rose created the magic that made the lights glow. Well, I guess you could more say that she discovered it."

"Discovered it?" Catania asked curiously "How?"

"Yeah! How?" Zee repeated.

"Rose had always been a very special fairy." The Enchantress answered "Everyone knew it. One day, she discovered that she had a very special ability to create light. That's how we got our luminescence. Rose found that everyone has a little bit of light in them. But her light was different. It was magical. She could shoot a ray of Luminescence at anything and it would continue to glow. That's when she came up with the idea of the Lights of Flutterfield."

"How does my Mother keep the lights on?" Carlos asked "They are basically linked to her."

"Rose gave your mother some of the magic." The Enchantress smiled softly "They thought that between the two of them, the lights would burn for a long time. But neither one suspected that one would die before the lights were even tried for the first time. Now, Marabella is the only link left to the lights. That's why when she was poisoned the lights went out."

"So, if Rose were still alive, the lights would have continued to glow?" Catania asked.

"Yes." The Enchantress nodded "I'm afraid I don't know how to help besides to wish you good luck." she pulled a bracelet out of her pocket "This will allow you to pass through the wall. After you pass through, the others will have thirty seconds to get through before it seals again." she chuckled "Or you'll have to pass through the wall again to give them another try."

"Thank you." Mariposao said, taking the bracelet.

"Of course. Tell Marabella I said hello."

"Yes ma'am." Carlos gave her a slight nod "Thank you, Your Highness."

"I wish you all luck."

"I can show you the way to the Bewilderness from here." Elina volunteered "It's quicker than heading back towards Flutterfield."

"That would be great." Mariposa smiled "Thanks."

The Enchantress watched as the group flew off "Rose's daughter is still alive. I wonder..."

**(Sorry people who were hoping Rose was still alive! But her story still isn't over! Enjoy! Laterz! Oh yeah, I have no idea how long it will take for me to update. My computer's starting to crash on me! NOOO! So if it dies it may be a few weeks! :( Sorry! Laterz everybodiez!)**


	9. The Outskirts of the Bewilderness

When the group came to place where the magic wall was, they stopped.

"The thing I hate about magic walls." Catania said "You can't see them." she flew a few feet forward and was instantly shot back "But you can feel them."

Mariposa took a deep breath and looked at the bracelet "Let's just hope it works."

Carlos sent her a reassuring smile then bowed slightly "After you."

"How about you do it?" She went to pull the bracelet from her wrist and frowned "It... won't come off." she tried again, but it would not budge "Weird."

"Very. So go!" Catania gave Mariposa a push from the back and sent the butterfly fairy flying through "Oops."

Carlos chuckled "Come on." then he and the Crystal Princess flew to the other side of the wall.

Mariposa stood up from where she had landed "Well. That was fun."

Catania shrugged "Sorry."

"We'd better keep moving." Carlos suggested "This side of the wall has more skeezites than the other side does."

"And they roam day and night here." Mariposa finished "Because of the thick trees. No light."

"But where would Henna live out here?" Catania asked "Is she in a house or a tree or a cave?"

Mariposa sighed "I don't know. But we have to find her, get that flower she has and get back to Flutterfield. I can only imagine what is happening there."

"**Where is Cataina?"** Regilious asked, facing Talayla and Willa "I haven't seen her for two days and your excuses are wearing off!"

"She uh..." Willa looked over at Talayla "A little help here."

"She's washing her hair!" Talayla said quickly.

Regilious's eyebrows lowered "Tell me where my daughter is!" he bellowed.

"No choice?" Talayla whispered.

"Not anymore." Willa responded, then she took a deep breath and stood as tall as she could "King Regilious, your daughter is..." her courage quickly deflated and she dodged behind Talayla "You tell him."

The crystal fairy took a looooong, deeeep breath then blurted out as fast as she could "Catania followed Carlos and Mariposa to the Bewilderness to find Henna and make her stop making the lights go out! Tada!"

"SHE WHAT!?" Regilious shouted "My daughter took off for skeezite territory with Mariposa and Carlos!?"

"Something like that." Willa tittered.

"If she comes back harmed I'll..."

"Regilious." Marabella said as she entered the room "Your daughter will be fine. I trust Mariposa as much as I trusted my best friend. She will bring Catania back safely, I know it. Even if she has to risk her life to do it."

Regilious frowned "You've only known her a few months."

"Yes, but as I said. I trust her as I trusted my best friend." Marabella sighed "Mariposa reminds me of a girl I used to know, many years ago. She's dead now, but it's like Mariposa has brought her back to life. I know it sounds strange, but..." she shook her head slightly "I'd place my life in Mariposa's hands and have full confidence that I would have no need to worry."

Regilious stared at her "Is that why you don't discourage your son from seeing her?"

The Butterfly queen chuckled "I can't think of anyone I would rather take my place as queen."

Talayla and Willa looked at each other "Whoa."

"Alright then." Regilious nodded slightly "Then I suppose I will just wait and see if my daughter returns." with that he turned and flew away.

"**Is it still **morning?" Catania asked "Because I can't tell."

"Just don't think about it." Mariposa said as cheerfully as she could.

"Spooky." Zee droned "Spoooooky."

"Zee!"

"What?"

"I think we may have just found where Henna is." Carlos said with a bright smile. He pointed to the distant where a dull orange glow was "I think she's the only one who would have a light around here."

"Well, let's go!" Catania said quickly "I want to get as close to a light as I can!"

What seemed like an eternity later, they finally reached the cabin. When they peeked in one of the windows, they saw Henna sitting in a chair looking at one of the flutterfield lights that was dim.

"That's the light we need." Mariposa whispered.

Carlos nodded "Let's go."

They turned around and gasped. Right behind them were four skeezites.

"I wish we could eat you." One said "But the little lady gave us orders to bring you to her."

As the three were ushered into the cabin, Henna turned and looked at them "Hello. I was told you were coming."

"Henna, why are you doing this?" Mariposa asked.

"Why else?" Henna snapped "To be queen! To get revenge on everyone in flutterfield! Especially _you! _If you hadn't gone after that Illios antidote, I would be queen now!"

"You don't deserve to be queen!" Mariposa's brown eyes flashed "Don't you get it? It'll never work! You won't get away with this!"

"I already have." Henna walked over to the large flower that was sitting on the table "I know why you're here." she picked the plant up "But you're too late."

"Henna, listen." Carlos said calmly "That potion you got from Gwyllion won't work. You can't turn the lights back on."

"Of course I can!" the purple haired fairy laughed "I can turn them off and turn them on! They are under my control!"

"You just think that." Mariposa said "But once you turn out the lights you're not going to be able to turn them back on."

Henna stared at them for a second then smirked "As if. You're just trying to trick me. It's not going to work!" she walked over to the fireplace "And you're not getting this flower either!" then with a laugh she pulled off one of it's petals then threw the rest of it into the fire.

"No!" Mariposa, Cataina, and Carlos cried.

But the flower was quickly consumed in flames and turned to ashes.

Henna began to laugh "There went your last hope! I'm the new queen of Flutterfield now! And no one can stop me!" with that, she went out another door.

Mariposa stared at the fireplace for a long moment, then with a sigh she backed into a corner and slid to the floor. She pulled her knees up to her chest and buried her face in her arms.

Carlos stood there helplessly. He wanted to say something encouraging, but nothing came to mind.

"We failed." Mariposa whispered "After everything we've been through, we failed."

Carlos walked over to where she was and knelt down in front of her "None of us failed." he said, placing a hand on her arm "We just... didn't make it in time."

Mariposa slowly looked up at him "What's difference?"

"You only fail when you don't try."

Catania walked over to where the one petal was laying on the floor "I don't suppose this is any good, is it?"

"I'm afraid not." Mariposa shook her head. She leaned back into the wall and looked up at the ceiling "What are we going to do?"

"Well, all the lights aren't out yet." Carlos said as he stood up "Maybe we can stop her before she turns them all out."

"It's our only chance." Catania added.

Mariposa nodded, a determined look going over her face. She stood up, walked over to Catania and took the petal from her "We've got to at least try." then she sat it down on the table.

None of them saw the petal slowly start to glow as they flew out the door.

**(Sorry for the long delay peoplez. But my computer only works when it feels like it :P**

**Thanks for all the favs, follows, and reviews! Laterz!)**


	10. Henna's plan fails

When Henna reached Flutterfield the sun was starting to set "Soon." she laughed.

Fairies flying around gasped when they saw her. They all knew about her betrayal a few months ago.

Henna was just smiling to herself. Everything was going perfectly! No one was going to stop her!

"Henna!" Marabella gasped "What are you doing here?"

"I've come to take what is mine!" the purple haired fairy answered "If you care about your subjects, make me queen!"

"No." Marabella said calmly "Henna, how could you?"

"Because, I deserve it!" Henna snapped "No more will fairies look at me with disrespect! The only lights left on are the ones on the border of Flutterfield! Once I turn them off you only have a few moments to make me queen before the skeezites devour everyone! I'm the only one who can turn the lights back on!"

Marabella stared at the other fairy. What could she do?

It wasn't long til a dark shadow covered the kingdom as the sun sank below the horizon.

Henna grinned "It's your choice." then she raised her hand in the air, prepared to make the last of the lights deminish.

"Henna! Stop!" Mariposa called as she and the other two raced in "It's not going to work!"

Henna groaned "You're going to be the first one I give to the skeezites as a treat!"

"You don't understand!" Mariposa continued "You _can't _turn them back on! The skeezites will just ruin the kingdom! You won't be the hero, Henna! You'll be the destroyer!"

"You lie!" Henna screeched "I _can _turn back on the lights! Only I can drive out the skeezites once they come in and I'll only do it if you make me queen!" then without waiting another moment, she dropped her hand and the last of the lights went out.

Immediately Skeezites came bursting in. Fairies scattered in all directions to escape the beasts.

"Make me your Queen, Flutterfield! Or die!" Henna shouted.

Several moments later, the fairies began to cry out in fear, begging Henna to turn on the lights.

Marabella looked around desperately, then she sighed "Please, Henna!" she finally said "Do it and I'll give you what you want."

"It's about time." Henna laughed, the she lifted her hands into the air.

"Please let Gwyllion have been wrong." Mariposa whispered.

But nothing happened.

"What?" Henna tried again, but it didn't work "Oh no."

Carlos shook his head "It's over."

"Hide!" Someone shouted "We're all doomed!"

"Not yet!" Talayla shouted "Look what I've got!"

"A Crystalite!" Catania exclaimed.

Talayla flew over to one of the flowers, then smiled as it's light came back on "Oh ye- whoa!" a skeezite brushed past her, knocking the gem from her hand "Oh no!"

The Crystalite fell to the ground and out of sight.

Talayla stared down at the ground then turned around slowly as a skeezite came up behind her.

"Mm! Crystal fairy!" the skeezite hummed "I wonder how you taste!"

"AHHH!" Talayla screamed, diving for the safety of the palace.

Mariposa and Catania both put their hands where their Crystalites _used _to be. If only...

Several skeezites turned to face Henna "You tricked us!" one said.

"Yeah!" Added another "You were going to turn the lights back on!"

Henna smiled nervously "It was just a hoax, see?" she waved her hand "I can't turn them on!"

"Run for cover!" Lord Gastrous shouted quickly flying for the palace door with the queen as more skeezites invaded the kingdom.

The others began to follow, but a noise caught Mariposa's attention causing her to turn around.

"No no no!" Henna cried as she tried to get away from several skeezites that were chasing her "Please!"

Mariposa gasped "Henna!" then she took off.

"Mariposa!" Carlos called "What are you doing!?"

"Come back!" Catania begged.

But Mariposa was already speeding towards Henna, her face set in determination.

"Mm!" One skeezite grinned "We finally get to eat!"

"No!"

Right before the Skeezite's teeth closed on Henna, Mariposa zoomed past, pushing her out of the way.

A searing pain shot through Mariposa's back, and the next thing she knew, she was falling.

Henna caught her breath, trying to get over the near miss. Then she saw Mariposa swiftly falling towards the ground "Mariposa!" she gasped, then she dove after her. She grabbed onto the other fairy's arm and pulled her back up. Then she flew her to the palace porch and gently sat her on the ground.

Mariposa sank to her knees and took a deep breath.

"Are you alri..." Henna started, but she suddenly gasped.

Carlos cam running over "Mariposa! You..." his eyes widened "Oh no."

Catania was right behind the prince. Her hands flew over her mouth in an attempt to smother her gasp.

Mariposa summoned all of her strength and slowly looked over her shoulder. What she had feared was true. More than half of her left wing was gone... torn off by the skeezite.

"I... am so... sorry." Henna whispered "I know it doesn't fix anything... and I don't deserve it..."

"Henna." Mariposa said gently, standing to her feet "It's okay."

The purple haired fairy looked up in shock "What?"

Maripoas managed a weak smile "Go inside where it's safe." she looked up at the others "You too."

"You're coming too," Catania said slowly "Aren't you?"

Mariposa shook her head "I'm going after that Crytalite. It's Flutterfield's only hope!"

"But you can't fly!" Carlos objected "You could be killed!"

"It's a risk I _have _to take." Mariposa responded "It's the only way to get rid of the skeezites."

"But..."

"Carlos." she interrupted "I can't fly anymore. I've got one wing that's three times the size of anyone else's." she swallowed the lump that was rising in her throat "I'm already going to cause unneeded trouble."

Carlos saw her blink away a tear "Let me get it."

"No. It's too dangerous. Please." she finally whispered "Go where it's safe." then she turned around and started to walk away.

Carlos leapt forward and grabbed her hand "Mariposa! Wait! Please! I love you!"

**(Sorry for the short chapter. Well, this story is soon coming to a close. Thanks all the continued support everyone! Laterz!)**


	11. Carlos's Confession

Mariposa spun around, her eyes wide "What?"

Carlos took a deep breath then repeated what he had just said "I love you."

She stared at him for a long moment "You... do?"

He nodded "I do. And I always have. I was jut too... scared to tell you."

Mariposa's eyes scanned his face for any sign that he might be lying, but his face was completely honest and sincere.

"I didn't know if you felt the same, so I didn't say anything. Instead I just watched for some clue that you might possibly return it." he reached out and took her other hand "I finally saw something while we were with the tolls that gave me a little bit of hope." he took a step closer to her "Please don't get yourself hurt or killed. _I_ need you."

"Carlos, I can't fly anymore." Mariposa whispered, choking on her words.

"So what?" He shrugged "Elina couldn't fly at first either, remember?"

"But..." she shook her head "She..."

"It doesn't matter." Carlos interrupted "You're wings don't make you you."

"What if it matters to me?" she whispered, looking down at her shoes.

Carlos slowly lifted her face up "Then I hope you realize how much _more _you mean to everyone else.. especially me." then he whispered "I love you."

His pleading gaze tore at her heart, then a smile slowly crossed Mariposa's face "I love you too, Carlos." she whispered "With all my heart."

A small laugh escaped Carlos's throat as his right hand gently cupped the side of her face, then he bent down and kissed her.

Mariposa's eyes closed as she melted into what she had only dreamed of.

Catania, Willa, and Talayla all looked at each other and grinned.

Just then, there was a bright flash of light from Mariposa's wings.

"Look!" Talayla cried.  
Mariposa looked over her shoulder and watched as her left wing began to shimmer and grow until it was completely restored to it's original size. When the light faded, there was a constant pink glow left around them.

"I don't believe it." She whispered as she flapped it slowly.

Just then, a loud cry from the kingdom caught their attention, reminding them that there _were _still skeezites wrecking the town.

"There's nothing we can do." Carlos said, taking a small step back "Not without some lights."

Just then, a line of blue sparkles began to swirl through Mariposa's eyes. When it reached her pupils it flashed brightly. The glow around her wings changed from pink to a pale blue. And she slowly began fly into the air.

"What's happening?" Catania whispered.

"I don't know." Carlos answered.

Mariposa's wings began to glow brighter til she was completely enveloped in the bright light.

Then all at once, the light shot away from her in all directions across the whole kingdom. The Flutterfield lights instantly came back to life, glowing brighter than they ever had before.

A moment later, Mariposa landed back on the ground, the glow around her wings returned to dim pink. She stood there for a second looking around confused "What... just happened?"

"You..." Carlos shook his head "You turned back on the lights."

Marabella joined them "I don't understand. How did you do that?"

"I don't know." Mariposa answered "It just... happened."

"Your mother!" Catania suddenly exclaimed "Remember? She had the magic _inside_! Who's to say it didn't go to her daughter?"

"Who was your mother?" Marabella asked slowly.

"I believe you knew her." Mariposa said "My mother was Rose."

"Rose?" The queen gasped, then she stared at Mariposa for a long moment. Sever seconds later a smile burst across her face "No wonder You made me think of my dear friend!" she pulled the younger fairy into a tight hug "All these years, I thought you had died with your mother." she held Mariposa at arms' length "But you've been here the entire time! Flutterfield's _true _heir!"

"What!?" Mariposa gasped.

"What?" Carlos, Catania, Willa, and Talayla all echoed.

Marabella raised a curious eyebrow "Mariposa, with all your reading do you really have no idea _who _Rose was?"

"There are so many fairies named Rose." Mariposa answered quietly "I didn't even know she existed till yesterday."

"Rose created these lights." Marabella said "She wanted to make a protection after her husband, the King, was killed by a skeezite."

Mariposa took a step back "The King?"

"Yes. Mariposa, your mother Rose was the Queen of Flutterfield."

**(Yet another Short chapter :P I have got to stop that! Well, I hope everyone is happy! Unless you're like my sister and think Marabella's been queen since before she was married and whatnot, but I thought it made a nice place for Mariposa. ;D I hope you've all enjoyed this story so far! One more chapter... I think. There may be one more after, we'll just see! Laterz!)**


	12. The End

"The Queen!?" Mariposa gasped "But... I..."

"I became queen after she was killed because I kept the lights burning." Marabella explained "We all thought that you had gotten killed with your mother. You are the true heir to the throne."

Mariposa took a few steps back "Your Majesty, I don't want to take the throne from you. Not ever!"

"I know that." Marabella laughed "But I was planning on handing it over to my son soon anyways."

"I don't understand." Catania spoke "How come the lights went out when you were dying if Mariposa had the magic?"

"She had to unlock it first." the queen smiled at her friend's daughter "It's almost too good to be true."

Just then, all the fairies came out of hiding and began to shout and cheer.

"Oh yeah!" Willa cheered "We did it!"

Then she grabbed Talayla's arm and flew over to Mariposa and Catania were, grabbed them and flew up into the air.

"You know what's cool." Willa said, pointing at Mariposa's wings "You know you'll never get eaten because your wings are glowing! No skeezites bugging you!"

Mariposa laughed "Good thing I'm used to sleeping with a light."

Henna joined them "I just wanted to say how sorry I am for... you know. Then you risked your life to save me."

Mariposa shook her head slightly "If it wasn't for you, Henna, I never would have figured out who I am. Thank you."

The two exchanged a quick hug, then Henna went to talk to Marabella.

"What I'm wondering is what made my wings heal?" Mariposa said.

"I think I do." Catania grabbed Mariposa's arm "Remember what Hervey said? There is no greater power than true love."

Mariposa slowly looked over to where Carlos was still standing on the balcony. He looked up at her, smiled and sent her a small wave.

With a small laughed she dove down to the ground. As soon as she landed, her wings folded down then she threw her arms around the Prince's neck "Thank you."

He happily returned the hug and the only thing he could think to say was "Marry me?"

Mariposa's eyebrows furrowed and she backed up "What?" then she groaned "Oi. I have been saying that _way _too many times lately."

Carlos simply chuckled "I know what you mean." he glanced around to see if anyone was listening. No one appeared to be, so he turned back to face her "I'm serious. Will you marry me?" he held his hand out "Or, to put it another way. Be my Princess?"

"You mean queen." Marabella said, suddenly stepping up to them. The couple looked over at her in shock "Yes I've been listening." she informed them "And so has everyone else."

Mariposa slowly looked around. The _entire _kingdom was watching them quietly and expectantly.

She heard Carlos groan and knew that his face was probably as red as hers was.

"Well?" Willa shouted "What are you going to say?"

Mariposa glanced at her friend then turned back to face Carlos. A smile slowly spread across her face and she nodded "I would love to marry you, Carlos." she slipped her hands into his "More than anything."

"**You really never **guessed that Carlos loved you?" Catania asked and she hurriedly helped Mariposa with her wedding dress.

"No!" Mariposa laughed "How could I?"

"Well..." Catania said "Willa knew."  
That made Mariposa's eyebrows lurched "What do you mean?"

"You know that ball that was thrown in Flutterfield when my dad and Queen Marabella met?"

"Yeah."

"Willa told us that you two were 'made for each other'."

Mariposa cocked her head "But how did she..."

Catania shrugged "I guess it's true. Love is blind."

A small knock sounded on the door and King Rigellious's voice came through "Are you ready?"

Mariposa took a deep breath "As I'll ever be."

Catania laughed then opened the door "Come on in, Father."

King Rigellious smiled when he spotted the butterfly fairy "I have to admit, you _do _look like your mother."

"You knew my mother?" Mariposa asked in shock.

Rigellious shrugged "Slightly." then he held his arm out to her "Shall we?"

"We shall."

Rigellious had _volunteered _to escort Mariposa to the alter since she had no one else to do it and Queen Marabella was conducting the ceremony since she was queen and would be performing the coronation ceremony as well.

As the large double doors to the throne room swung open, the kingdom stood to their feet.

A smile crossed Carlos's face as he watched Mariposa slowly flying towards him, her eyes on the ceiling. He couldn't help but chuckle slightly.

When she finally reached where he was, she landed softly beside him then _finally _looked at him "Hi." she whispered.

"Hello." he responded, then the ceremony began.

Catania giggled as she went to stand by Talayla and Willa "You were right."

"Duh." Willa laughed quietly "It was in the stars. Literally." then she winked "All puns included."

The three laughed, but very quietly so they wouldn't disturb the wedding.

Finally, when both ceremonies were over, Marabella flew a few feet into the air to adress the crowd "Now, I present to you, Carlos and Mariposa! King and Queen of Flutterfield!"

Everyone went into an uproar of cheers.

Mariposa let out a breath she had realized she'd been holding "Well..."

Carlos took her hand "Come on." then they flew from the room together.

The whole crowd migrated to the ballroom and soon many fairies were dancing around.

"I can't believe it!" Someone with a thick accent said behind Mariposa.

"Are you kidding?" Another with the same accent said "We always knew it!"

Mariposa spun around and laughed "Raina! Rayla!" she ran over and hugged the twin fairies "It's been way too long!"

"Oh we know!" Raina said "You can image out faces when we hear that _you _were marrying Prince Carlos!"

Mariposa's smile faltered slightly "Oh?"

"Yeah." Rayla added "We were surprised that you two finally got over your shy spots to admit it! You did admit it, right?"

"Yes." Her smile returned "It's great to see you two."

Carlos stepped up behind Mariposa and smiled at the twins "I hope you don't mind if I steal her away."

"No no." The twins answered "Have fun."

Carlos took Mariposa's and pulled her up into the air.

Rayla sighed dreamily "Wow."

"I know." Raina nodded "Who would have ever thought?"

The Enchantress flew over to where Marabella was and tapped her shoulder.

As soon as she turned around, she laughed "Camellia! Oh it has been too long!"

"I know." The Enchantress laughed as she hugged her old friend "I _had _to visit after Mariposa dropped in."

Marabella nodded "She's a remarkable fairy."

"Yes." Camellia pointed across the room to where Elina was talking to Catania "We have one in Fairytopia." she chuckled "You know. When Mariposa showed up at my place and told me _who_ her mother was, I couldn't believe it! And I was starting to wonder if she could turn the lights back on."

"Well, your assumption was correct." Marabella motioned to the lights around her, then she lowered her voice "And don't tell her this, but she's more powerful than her mother was. A _lot _more." then she sighed "Rose would have been so proud."

"I know." Camellia placed a hand on her friend's shoulder "We all miss her."

Just then, King Rigellious joined them and motioned to where Mariposa and Carlos were dancing "I do believe that Flutterfield is in good hand."

Marabella nodded "As do I. Well, considering you can get them out of the library and into the throne room for a few hours."

The Enchantress laughed "I thought they were books worms,"

Rigellious smiled before giving a quick nod and flying away.

Marabella and Camellia watched til he was out of ear shot and both laughed softly, then looked at each other in shock.

Camellia shrugged "We've both dated him."

Marabella laughed "All _three _of us. Rose was the first."

They shared a laughed, then turned their attention to the new King and Queen of Flutterfield.

The couple danced around the ballroom for a little bit before Carlos pulled her out one of the side doors, out under the stars.

Mariposa sighed as she looked up at them "Beautiful."

"Mm-hm." he nodded, then he turned to face his wife "Well... I think It's safe to say that a new adventure as begun." then he added teasingly "And I don't think your wings will have to grow or change for this one."

Mariposa glanced back at her glowing wings and chuckled "Let's hope not." then she let out a long breath.

"Are you alright?" Carlos asked.

She nodded slowly "I'm perfect." she answered "It's just... I never imagined myself as... Queen. I mean. I spent the biggest part of my life feeling like I didn't even belong and now..."

He nodded in understanding "I can promise everything will be okay."

She looked up into his eyes and smiled "And how do you know that?"

Carlos's smiled as he watched that small blue spark flash through her brown eyes. She didn't know that they did that yet "Because, we'll be going through everything _together._" then he pulled her close and kissed her.

The Flutterfield Lights brightened all across the kingdom. They would never go out again. Not as long as there was magic and love. And those two things are something that _never... ever _run out.

THE END

**(It over! I don't know whether to laugh or cry! I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Joycelyn. (I hope I spelled that right) again for the idea as well as the title! This story wouldn't have been anywhere near as good if it wasn't for her ideas! Thank you Joycelyn! And thanks to all you people who have followed, favorited and reviewed on this story! See you soon in my _next _story! Laterz! P.S. I'm not sure _how _the kiss healed Mariposa's wings. It just did. That's the magic of it! Bye bye!)**


	13. Author's note and apology!

Just a quick Author's note!

I had been sooo busy when I was writing this story that I forgot to mention one _very _important person who helped with this story. So I felt it necessary to mention her.

Princess2000! SOOOO sorry for not mentioning you sooner!

Thanks for all your help, Princess! This story wouldn't have been possible without you!

I'm afraid I got a couple of good friends on here mixed up *ducking head in embarassment*, but I want to thank both of them for helping me!

Princess2000 for the idea and Joycelyn. for the title, and both for offering help!

I don't want to leave anyone out. SO, Thank you!

Laterz!


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